Florida makes U-turn on Medicaid expansion

In a sudden about-face after months of fighting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Florida Gov. Rick Scott has given the go-ahead to expand the state's Medicaid program, The New York Timesreported.

The decision by Scott is significant because of Florida's sizable population--an estimated 1 million residents would be eligible for Medicaid coverage under the expansion and would significantly reduce the uncompensated care burden shouldered by the Sunshine State's hospitals, the article noted.

The Scott's decision is apparently softening the hard-line stance of other red states that have been hostile to the reform law. For instance, Texas, where Gov. Rick Perry has said he would not expand the program, may now be open to compromise and seek a waiver to run the program on the its own terms, according toThe Texas Tribune.

Despite Scott's change of heart, expanding Medicaid will still require the approval of the Florida Legislature, which is controlled by Republicans and remains suspicious of the ACA at best, reportedThe Miami Herald.

"I remain skeptical that that's in the best interests of the state," Seth McKeel, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, told the Herald. Similar sentiments were expressed by House Speaker Will Weatherford as well.

THE LIBRARY: WHITEPAPER

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